A close-up look at NYC education policy, politics,and the people who have been, are now, or will be affected by acts of corruption and fraud. ATR CONNECT assists individuals who suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool and are the "new" rubber roomers, and re-assigned. The terms "rubber room" and "ATR" mean that you or any person has been targeted for removal from your job. A "Rubber Room" is not a place, but a process.

Ms. Arisleyda Urena was engaged in conducting unauthorized raffles, with student
participants, while she was the principal of the Academy for Language and Technology, in the Bronx (09X365). In December
2011, and December 2012, Ms. Urena and Assistant Principal Jose Vinales
hosted unsanctioned raffles for students.

Ms. Urena hired two educational consultants to help her with the
day-to-day running of the school -- Dr. Rosamaria Leon is an F-status
principal and Ms. Elena Papaliberios is the former Bronx Superintendent of High
Schools (and Ms. Urena’s former supervisor). Dr. Leon and Ms.
Papaliberios were also aware of the unsanctioned raffles. These raffles
violated Chancellor’s Regulation A-660, the Regulations of the New York
State Racing and Wagering Board, New York General Municipal Law§195-a, and New York City Department of Education Standard Operating
Procedures.

While
working as a teacher at the Academy for Language and Technology
(ALT), a former teacher witnessed Ms. Urena and Mr. Vinales selling
raffle tickets to students (who had not been banned from purchase for infractions)
for fifty cents per ticket. Students who were in good “academic
standing,” had not been cutting class, and had not been suspended were eligible
to buy tickets for the raffle. Students bought tickets for the
purpose of being able to win expensive sporting equipment and Apple electronics
in raffles that took place in December 2011 and December 2012.

The occurrence of these raffles had not been
shared with parents via letters or other communications from the
school.

According to New York General Municipal Law § 195-a:

"No
person under the age of eighteen years shall be permitted to play any game or
games of chance conducted pursuant to any license issued under this
article."

Ms.
Urena had purchased these items for her 2011 and
2012 raffles using her Department of Education-issued credit card
(known as a “Procurement Card” or “P-card”) in an inappropriate
fashion. In this video at the following URL -- http://vimeo.com/34768875 -- from
about 23 seconds to 4 minutes, 56 seconds, Ms. Urena, Mr. Vinales, and several
teachers are raffling off at least twenty laptops, iPods, and
tablets.

In this next video at the following URL -- http://vimeo.com/33928152 -- commencing
at about 6 minutes, 8 seconds, Ms. Urena is raffling off two
very extravagant gift baskets. According to the New York
City Department of Education's Standard Operating
Procedures §2.7.7:

"Only moderately priced incentives, with a market value of less than $25,
may be given to students as part of an officially sanctioned incentive program
such as dropout prevention, honor roll, attendance, etc. are
permitted."

Ms.
Urena also permitted unsanctioned raffles at PTA/PA meetings to
induce parents to attend. In the past, she had raffled off
electronics and Broadway tickets. She had improperly purchased
these items using her P-card in an inappropriate fashion. See
the attached Excel printout (obtained as a result of a Freedom of
Information Law request) of the purchases on her P-card statements.

According to Chancellor's Regulation A-660 III(C)(2)(c):

"Any sale of raffle tickets must be done in compliance with the provisions
of the New York State General Municipal Law,
and applicable regulations of the New York State Racing
and Wagering Board."

Ms.
Urena resigned from her principal's position on November 1,
2013. She now currently works in "Administrative Services"
at 131 Livingston St., Brooklyn, NY. She is under investigation by
the Office of Special Investigations for misappropriation of school
funding. Jose Vinales is currently the Interim Acting (I.A.) Principal
of the Academy for Language and Technology.

59 comments:

Anonymous
said...

ms urena was the most excellent pricipal l never saw before, yes she did all this raffle but she have a reason she just want to help her students, , probably she make a mistake but no one is perfect , and as a student l know that she was a great principal ,, she helped all studens to progress and also make a change in our community.

Holy crap that was my principle in my schools but this is not even an issue they broke many student codes before that breaking students rights and threatning them as well.. I am a victim as well but i already graduated there many things wrong with that school hood thing i graduated already.

no way Ms. Urena was the most excellent principal in the world and comparing ALT to any other school the other school are nothing. She was always preoccupation about us. If we have to give the money back we will no there no way you can say bad thing about ALT OR Mr. URENA. J.P

Finally somebody talks about her protectors including the Bronx Superintendent for High School. I wonder when NYCDOE will start taking about other things like: illegals studenst session, credits, great teachers and staff getting terminated, students getting transfer illegally, etc.

Ms. Urena is a 2007 Graduate of Mayor Mike and Joel Klein's NYC Leadership Academy. She's class of 2007 and almost flunked out of the principal class.

Aris did her internship as an "Aspiring Principal" under Anthony Rotunno of JFK High School. She learned from the "best" as Rotunno was known for cooking student grades, stealing student funding, misappropriation of federal/state funding, scrubbing Regents scores, and getting rid of teachers who refused to bow down to him as their lord and sovereign. Tragically all of the above went down at ALT while Urena served as principal.

Children, if Principal Urena cared about you, then think of this:1. How come every year ALT looses 40-55% of their teaching staff? 2. How come you do not have money for new textbooks?3. How come you stay in the same homeroom hour after hour?4. How come student enrollment drops every year?

As evidenced by this article, Urena is FINALLY catching fire for what the DOE has let her get away with for the past 7 years.

Kudos to Betsy and the brave soul who was brave enough to come forward with their story!

Actually, ALT was mentioned in an article all about credit recovery through APEX. Urena allowed teachers to look the other way to allow students to cheat their way through earning credits.

“It’s a big issue at the school . . . the reason the principal does this is to make our school look good on our progress report,” said a former teacher at the Academy for Language and Technology in The Bronx, where 13 percent of credits came from makeup work in 2011-12.

This lady has No business being an administrator. That school took pride in exhaulting 7 Values of Success--but she must ask herself, how many, if any, she herself ever practiced. She's completely delusional if she thinks she was fair and just to everyone around her--or just when it suited her needs. Glad to be outta there and away from that terrible terrible admistrative staff.

When are people going to talk about the conflict of interest violations?

- Being buddies with the old UFT rep Claire Brennan and having Brennan be her baby boy's godmother?- Hiring School Aide Pablo Guzman to do construction on her house?- Hiring Elena Papaliberios to be a consultant (and paying her in Title III LEP funding)?- Buying computers from a teacher's family computer store?

The DOE could spend years investigating Aris Urena. The woman is dirty.

Im an Ex- Student from ALT.I saw so much of the injustice that was occurring here, I even called 311 and reported the school but never did they do anything. For example: students were sent home at plain morning back in previous years for not having a simple tied? Students were threaten to be suspended because they couldnt express themselves by their hairdos, and nail color, nor could they give an opinion to Jose Vinales because he will quickly feel offended. I thought that was our First Amendment right? apparently the school didn't believe in that. There's so much more behind walls!. The DOE is lacking and what Principa Arisleyda Urena has done is an example.

Rumor has it that Ms Urena has been whispering to her friends that just as soon as she's done serving her "penance" at the Administrative Services Office, that she has been promised a choice position by some of her powerful political allies, cronies and others she bought favor from over the years. Surely the DOE will not allow this to happen.....or will they? Will justice be served or will it be "business as usual" and the DOE? The one thousand people who have already viewed this blog will be watching and waiting...

She had the good students getting off school at 4 and 5 in the afternoon and working their asses off in a math class none of them basically needed and those students that she didn't want to have as part of the school because they were either pregnant or or just too bad of a student she gave them all the credits necessary so they could graduate a whole year before they should have... Nonetheless they went to school from 11 to 1

How is it that Ms Urena is allowed to "Work Off" her missing Funds at the Administrative Services Office? When you resign, aren't you out of the system? Don't we fire people who do what she allegedly did or are we really so corrupt at the DOE that we can just make what she allegedly did "Go Away" by working for free at her hourly rate until it's paid back? Is the City serious letting this happen? Why is she not terminated? The only one laughing about how easy it is to make all of these allegations "Go Away" is Ms Urena. We are a disgrace. Truly.

I understand that the person who worked on her house was allowed to punch in early and out late daily and in on some weekends..... Makes you wonder how he got paid for all the renovations on her house.... I understand that they terminated some school officials on Long Island for using school employee's to do this type of work. I'd recommend an investigation but based on what's transpired so far, I have zero confidence that the DOE cares about any of this and would rather this and all the other called out issues all just go away. It must be nice to have friends in "High" places.

It's sad and I saw so many teachers and staff get treated unfairly. She had a great team and she either gave them a bad rating or they left cause they could not take her abuse and harassment. It's a shame and I've always said that the lord does not like ugly so she is getting everything that she did to so many good people.

In addition, Ureña used one teacher as a spy and would punish teachers based on his information, even when allegations were based on a lie. Until he got caught doing malicious acts in the classroom then he disappeared. It was an environment of secrets and fear, so sad because the students are so good and deserve better.

Ladies and Gentlemen:As cathartic/rewarding it is to use this article as a means to gripe/commiserate/complain about the horrible things Urena has done to you, someone you know, students, parents, and/or the school A.L.T.—does posting on blogs without action really do much?

NO!

The time to act is NOW.

People, we KNOW what Urena did is immoral/unethical/corrupt. She sadly is not the only principal the DOE has let run amuck (look at the likes of Iris Blige, Linda Hill, or Salema Marbury– all featured on Ms. Combier’s blog!). We have stories and some of us have hard evidence of the crimes Ms. Urena committed. WE CANNOT BE AFRAID OF HER. She is NOT some all-power deity who can smite you or destroy your career with a single word. She is, for now, under investigation—doing copies in an office in Brooklyn. She’s been cast out of her lair. Does she have friends in high places? Sure. But does this mean it’s a lost cause? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Urena smiles and laughs because by reading our comments it proves to us that she has won in the fact that we are divided, too terrified and bewildered like sheep, to come together and fight back. This was how she was able to control ALT for 7 long years. The fear factor at this school is incredible—you don’t need to go back to Stalin’s USSR to see what a totalitarian government looked like if you would spend a year teaching/learning in ALT. Yes, the DOE babies principals who break the rules. Yes, the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) may be a part of Gill Hearn’s DOI but they still get paid via the DOE (read: Richard Condon is paid his salary to look the other way on instances of conflict of interest, embezzlement, and child abuse committed by administrators). But this doesn’t mean that all is hopeless.

Will Carmen Farina write the wrongs of Klein/Black/Walcott? Only time can tell. Will de Blasio be able to ensure an ethical DOE where children come first and teachers are treated with dignity and respect as professionals? We’ll wait and see.

I will repeat: The time to act is NOW.

There are many things you can do:

1. Share this press release with the media and government officials.

2. Write petitions and share with the public.

3. Call the Public Advocate, Chancellor, Mayor

4. Share this article/press release with others who would be sympathetic (parents, advocates, students, and teachers)

5. Send requests via the Freedom of Information Act (for more information on this, go to: http://hugoart76.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-to-file-freedom-of-information-foil.html). You can request anything that is public information from the DOE: personal files, budget reports from ALT, audits, memos on investigations.

6. Follow Betsy’s blog and other blogs she has posted. Let’s get inspiration from those before us.

And maybe, we should shoot an email to the contact listed on the press release—Bronx.uft.news@gmail.com. Maybe they have some more suggestions on how we can get involved and fight back. After all, they did find the videos of the illegal raffles.

Urena has only gotten away with so much because people were too afraid to stand up to her before. She will succeed in getting her position as Deputy Chancellor or Director of QR, if we do nothing.

Katniss, Thanks for the well intentioned pep talk. Unfortunately no whistle blower will go unpunished by the DOE. The evidence is all here, All they have to do is look. It's obvious they are embarrassed enough over this situation and the last thing they want to do is investigate any new allegations regarding Ms Urena. This is DONE! THE FIX IS IN! Ms Urena was backed into a corner as evidence against her was mounting. She saw the handwriting on the wall so instead of standing her ground, she went to the DOE and she cut a deal. This is OVER. She most likely promised to resign her Principal job, serve her penance, not sue for discrimination and pay back the money in exchange for staying on the payroll in a holding pattern until things die down. She then was most likely promised a new job, where she can again either potentially terrorize a whole new team of teachers as the principal of another school or worse, wield power over and punish other principals, as the head of some special DOE department or program. You see this is the privilege you enjoy as a member of the inner circle. This is the kind of power and influence you have when you hire a former Superintendent when she needed a job. Too bad hard working teachers accused of wrong doing are not given the same type of consideration.

Katniss, I'm sorry to rain on your parade but this is nothing more than business as usual. A deal is a deal, right? To my blogger friends, This know as the DOE shuffle. Watch and learn. The music is about to stop and Ms Urena is about to get another, more important job then the one she had as Principal of ALT. Game, set match. Who's laughing now?

you couldnt be more wrong about this teacher if you tried! he never spied for urena although he was asked to, the malicious acts never ocurred, they were created as a smokescreen to hide his complaints: the cruel treatment of an office worker who already had received 6 letters of discipline! he left of his own account as he had threatened to do if she did not change her behavior! get your facts straight

Regardless of what we feel and if Ms. Urena is lucky enough to get another job with the DOE. Her reputation is ruined and I have a feeling she won't be back in a school or she might even leave the DOE because this whole situation is embarrassing for her. Only because she thinks she knows it all and no one can have an opinion about anything. People are going to talk about her and that is exactly what she hates is being the talk of the school. When she is not in control she throws a tantrum and wants to get even and takes it out on the innocent. I see her running away because she is not prepared to handle tough situations and is afraid. That is why she had Mr. Vinales there to protect her while she hides in her office and lets him do all the dirty work for her.

Is it what I "believe" or is it what I "know" is the case based on low-inference observations and first-hand accounts? Urena had plenty of time to spread lies about anyone she wished--when they were no longer there of course to put forth their defense, and teachers that lacked good evaluative skills rushing to gullibly believe whatever she fed them during CPT didn't help matters either... Lastly, Urena is only partly to blame for the ALT mess. Every person that was under her, for years, including the 2 there now that think they"re APs, that had a chance to report her, and did not--are also VERY much to blame. Ponder upon this little piece of wisdom before your next high-inference blow-up.

A lot of negative things have been written on this blog about Ms Urena. I am not a former teacher or student from the school, but rather someone from the outside the DOE who had occasion to watch some of what has gone on at ALT. In order to be fair, I believe that you need to consider the complete body of Ms Urena's work, not just the accusations made here. Irregardless of how you feel about her personally, you have to believe that any "A" rated school who's population was largely Spanish speaking, that had the graduation rate of ALT had to have had some pretty good leadership. Just look at how many children were admitted to college last year. Look at the Regents results. Did Ms Urena teach all the course content needed for the students to pass? Did she process all their college applications? The answer to these and other questions I could ask is obviously no. She instead provided the vision and leadership that achieved these results. She saw talent in her team and put the right people over the right targets and completed her mission. Some of the teachers were asked to do more. In some cases, a lot more. I'm sure she knows that she really pushed some of her team to the limit. Again, personality and leadership style aside, lets not loose sight of some pretty impressive results. I can't speak to the missing Title 3 funds or some of the other things said here but I can say that she really understands how the DOE works. I noticed on this blog that she was faulted for hiring a former Superintendent. Was this really a move made for her personal gain or rather an intentional move in order to gain access to raise various needs for her school to a higher level? Does she have friends in high places as has been stated here? Perhaps, but you would have to consider how she may have used this influence to help the school. It's no secret that the DOE is a behemoth of bureaucracy. It should not be part of her job to be a politician. It unfortunately it is and is mandatory if you want to get the most funding, latest technology and deserved recognition for your school. Is Ms Urena tough, sometimes short and all business? You bet she is. She's not running for public office. She runs a High School in the Bronx, Not being a teacher at the school I really don't know everything and will leave critique of her methods of dealing with her staff to others on this blog. I end by saying that there is good and bad in everyone. I'd ask each blogger to consider their own personal style. Ask yourself this: does everyone you work with really like you? If answer yes, you're probably living in an alternate universe.

I am a cousin of a teacher from ALT. The most recent comment made by the non-DOE teacher/student, makes me feel that you cannot simply look at data and statistics and consider a school "an A school." ALT has gotten 4 "A's." But does this mean that it's an ideal environment to work in?

Teachers who have questioned Urena have ended up being reassigned to the rubber room (yes, they do exist and Urena is not shy about banishing you to one!) or subjected to an investigation. The data doesn't tell you that.

The data doesn't say how "college ready" ALT alum are. How many of them will graduate from college, on time with a 4-year diploma? The data will tell you that a lot of credit comes from APEX and very careful scrutiny will show you fluffing of transcripts. Students graduating without certain classes or classes with inflated credit values.

Look at the teacher turnover rate and the fact that student enrollment has decreased each year for the past 3-4 years!

It is very hard to remove a principal from power, especially a principal who makes strong political ties to high-ranking DOE brass and one whose school is performing well compared to other schools within the chort they are graded against. Does this mean that we shouldn't stop trying to see that the DOE/powers that be investigate Urena for the questionable things she's done? Certainly not!

We can only hope that someone will find the courage to do more digging of dirt and reveal more skeletons.

Please do not try to justify Ms. Urena's actions at ALT. She was unfair, unethical, and unjust; as such, she resigned her position and ran away from the situation altogether. Anyone with any integrity would have stayed, apologized for her misbehavior, and stuck it out for the sake of her students. If you want to find amazing principals in schools that serve all Spanish-speaking ELLs, look up Juan Villar from Gregorio Luperon or Mirza Sanchez Medina from Manhattan Bridges, just to name two. Neither of these individuals have been scandalized like this -- they are deeply loved and honored by their schools and communities, and have been for decades. The number of students they have sent on to colleges and beyond far exceeds anything that was muddled together under Ms. Urena's leadership. She seriously needs to think about the harm she brought to students, parents, teachers and fellow administrators during her years in that position. For every one good thing she did, it is easy to uncover dozens of lies, deceptions, and crimes -- including the nepotism of hiring her FORMER BOSS, the superintendent who got her into the Leadership Academy and subsequently gave her that job to begin with. For six years, the two of them collectively conspired to terminate over 50 professionals, many of whom Ms. Urena personally hired to work under her: school aides, custodians, safety agents, parent coordinators, guidance counselors, teachers, assistant principals. Luckily, justice and logic prevailed and the two were, for the most part, unsuccessful. Those who got black-listed by Ms. Urena simply moved on to better schools and are now happily employed and productive in their jobs elsewhere. Ms. Urena did the same to students -- getting uncountable numbers of them transferred or expelled simply because she did not like them. Low-inference data on this case tells it all. If you are unaware of what we are talking about, just dig a little deeper. The "A" report card for this school was purchased through misused tax dollars going to illegal sources. The latest "Well Developed" Quality Review Report was based on falsehoods from the current superintendent who feels beholden and threatened by her FORMER BOSS, the former superintendent-cum-newly-hired F-status consultant at ALT. Truly, this school and everything about it is, as another blogger posted, "dirty." Don't white-wash it to make it sound clean. Just go to wonderful places like Gregorio Luperon High School and Manhattan Bridges to know that fine bilingual education is being offered to Spanish students in New York City -- NOT by Academy for Language and Technology in the Bronx.

The recent posts have been revealing and contain some expected responses to my post of 1/8. If you read the post again you will see that I gave the actual credit for the results achieved to the teachers, not Ms. Urena. She was cited for leadership. After reading the last posts it appears that you are saying that ALT's academic performance is not what it appears. It sounds like the children were shortchanged and that the 4 "A" ratings were potentially earned through deceitful means. Ms Urena could not do this by herself. This would mean some or all of you may have sat idly by, watched and possibly participated in this work effort. That makes those who knew this was going on, equally complicit in this alleged fraud. You really should have been raising the alarm if what I read on this blog is true. Sitting behind your computer now and hurling accusations for alleged misconduct that took place over a 5 year period that some of you may have taken part in, is simply unacceptable. Is this all really a massive conspiracy or is what I really see in this blog nothing more than a few unhappy teachers who are trying to take down their former Principal? The UFT is one of the most powerful labor unions in the country. This said, It make me wonder how a group of highly educated, intelligent teachers, backed by the UFT and working at ALT were unable to get fair treatment from the DOE. Where were the numerous union reps throughout this 5 year period? Did you not elect these people? Where were they when all this alleged misconduct was going on? I've heard it said that Ms Urena tried to lobby to get some reps elected who would treat her policies favorably. I believe that this might be true as I would do the same in her position. One thing is for certain; she didn't raise her hand and vote 15 or 20 times in order to get her candidate elected. If you voted for who she wanted and not who was best for the faculty, then shame on you. I'd like to understand where the grievances filed and signed by the faculty complaining of their mistreatment? No one at the UFT has confirmed their existence. I'm not speaking of individual complaints from teachers, who did not get tenure when expected, or who were rated a U, or who had their teaching licenses taken. In a union environment I would expect grievances to be filed in these cases as these people have nothing to loose. They are almost automatic, no matter who the Principal is. The UFT is an incredible union. They protect their members to a fault. Just look at some of the teachers who have been hibernating within the rubber room process for over a decade. In a practical sense, they appear to almost be in a state of suspended animation. They remain on the payroll no matter how much public outrage over this appears in the news. Why would you not invoke the protections afforded to you? If what has been written here on this blog is really true, this should have been done. None of this makes any sense to me and I have a hard time believing a lot of the posts, especially the personal attacks I have read. In closing, based on what I am reading here, I believe that much more investigation needs to be done. The DOE needs to investigate the students test results over the last 5 years based on the accusations made here in this blog that point to a possible conspiracy involving the teachers and staff at the school to inflate grades in order to gain an undeserved "A" rating for ALT. They further need to fully vette the existing staff at ALT to ensure that the school has the necessary leadership to guarantee the academic success of its students going forward. Lastly, the UFT needs to investigate why a series of their union reps potentially failed in their duty to report possible ongoing mistreatment of their membership over a 5 year period. If wrongdoing is uncovered, it should be dealt with the same force and velocity that has been requested be used against Ms Urena. After all, I'm sure you would expect nothing less if your child attended ALT.

I have seen multiple posts here regarding the alleged tactics of Ms Urena. Not going to the DOE makes perfect sense if she is as powerful as what has been written here. What I don't understand is why all the teachers seem to know about this yet none of them ever went to the union, if only to be on record to protect themselves from what was going on. Surely the teachers had to know that this would all eventually unravel. I am not trying to be judgmental but you can't indict the principal without some of this falling back on you if you let this go for over five years without telling someone. It seemingly was affecting the children at the school. Allowing this to continue despite your full knowledge is what attorneys call "Tacit Complicity" JMO. Best of luck and wishes to all the posters.

Dear poster, not all ALT teachers are eager to sit complicit and ignore what has happened over 7 years. There have been several teachers, a few APs, and guidance counselors who raised the alarm and alerted the DOE and UFT of what had been going on at ALT.

The sad thing is that these people were betrayed by the DOE who alerted Urena what they did and then she despensed of them accordingly: by discontining them and subjecting them to a made up charge of misconduct.

One teacher was thrown in the rubber room for calling SCI and OSI for the embezzlement of $30G of Title 3 LEP funding. This teacher's status is unknown. I hope they continue to keep up the good fight of making sure Urena is fired from the DOE. let's all fight instead of gripping on this blog.

who's willing to fight Urena to see that the teachers and children she wrongged in the past get vindicated?

I do not have information on the entire history of the school, therefore I cannot speak about every UFT election, but in my short experience, there was never a real "vote" for a UFT rep at Academy for Language and Technology. Put simply, no one ran for the office. Certain individuals were approached by staff (and yes, even the principal) and asked to assume the position when it looked like no one else was going to run, but in my experience, no one ever willfully submitted their name for election.

The person who wrote the post above should also know that not one, but two unions--the UFT and CSA--were contacted MULTIPLE times throughout the early history of the school for help and support, and neither union ever officially came to the school to deal with the situation. They blatantly ignored ALT, to the extent that they would come to the building to meet with the UFT reps of the other two schools and not even mention to ALT staff that they were in the building. (The one time we did receive correspondence from our UFT district rep, it was a meager 3-paragraph email that was written at 3 am and contained over 32 typos -- not really something to boost ye' ole morale!)

During the first few years of the school's existence, Urena had full support from the Leadership Academy and the Chancellor's Office. Chancellor Klein himself stopped by with his entourage several times to shake our hands and to take pictures. Furthermore, Urena was on speed dial with the superintendent at that time, who was well known for wielding power to remove certification and licensure of anyone who opposed her. The UFT and CSA were fully aware of that.

So, where did that leave the staff of ALT?

Yes, for several years staff members at ALT were "tacitly compliant." No one will deny it. But we were also "not stupid." We needed to protect our jobs and careers for the sake of our children who needed a parent with full employment who could put dinner on the table. We received NO support from the unions to do this, nor did we have the desire to wind up in a rubber room and 'fight the good battle.' In the end, most of us moved on to different positions in the DOE and are happy that we did so. That does not mean we cannot contribute to a discussion like this one, particularly when someone like the blogger above tries to put Urena in a good light. We do have things to say about our experience at ALT, but we also have our children and families to protect. And that, for now, takes priority over everything.

Thanks for understanding.

Finally, adding to the allusion someone posted above, I pray we all try to remember at all times "who the real enemy here is."

This is in respond to the comment posted by "Anonymous" posted on 1/12 at 6:16am.

The newest UFT rep was "hand picked" rumor has it by Ms. Urena when Ms. Brennan was "asked" by the UFT District Rep to step down. The new UFT rep is up for tenure so you can be certain she will do whatever she can to please Mr. Vinales and the two others someone else alluded to who "act like APs" (Brennan/Orban). Nothing will change at ALT.

The DOE has abandoned us. The UFT and CSA does not care about the teachers or children. No wonder the turnover rate is so high.

My question for the rest of you is this: what can we do?

I only suggestion is keep talking about what has happened in the hope that someone will take an interest and do some investigation of their own.

I think it's very telling that we should "Not forget who the enemy is". So I guess it's official. This is an enemy/character assignation blog? I was hoping that bloggers here were in search of actual evidence or even the truth. Wait, there is no evidence in the comments section. I believe that all bloggers have to be very careful what they post here. In your zeal to bury Ms. Urena with everything negative you have thought or heard rumor of, you are giving people the impression that you let some of the issues cited go on without acting on behalf of yourselves or the children at the school. I guess you can't see this? It would be informative if someone would post the letter with the "32 Typo's" here for all to see. That would be most welcome and would be hard evidence supporting some of what's been said. This would answer some of the questions asked and is exactly the type of evidence I was hoping would be presented. This would definitely explain some of the staff silence as well as show everyone what your UFT due's are paying for. Katniss, I'm glad you are "willing to fight Urena to see that the teachers and children she wronged in the past get vindicated". Good for you! I myself am not fighting anyone or taking a stand one way or the other so as luck would have it, I'm not required to be brave. All I have done in my entries is ask questions and at times, propose a different perspective. Most of you are uncomfortable with this because it takes the spotlight off Ms. Urena and it sometimes shines it on the staff. If there is nothing to be worried about, why be defensive? Re-read my entries. I would not call any of them a rousing defense of Ms. Urena or usable as evidence in her prosecution or defense. I am only looking for the truth no matter where it takes us, even if its discovery requires formal investigation. Katniss, you on the other hand, are taking a brave stand; or are you? You hide behind a pseudonym. Katniss Everdeen is nothing more than the fictional heroine from the Hunger Games (actually katniss is an edible plant). How heroic. I apologize for my sarcasm in advance but I hope you borrowed her bow and arrows while you were busy taking her name. In closing I have yet to see any real, usable evidence posted in the comments section of this blog although I will say that Raffles Entry at the top was well documented with great supporting evidence. Compliments to the author! In aggregate, from what I see, the accusers here in the comments section are ineffective and are at a crossroads. You can keep up the personal attacks or you can stop and think about what you can prove and post it. Katniss seems like he/she may be ready to do this. Keep in mind that If you choose to continue to post emotional unsubstantiated statements it may feel good but you will be doing nothing more than playing Ms. Ureas game. If you must, go right ahead but my advice is to remember the wisdom of George Bernard Shaw: “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

Correction to my 1/12 post. It should have read “Keep in mind that If you choose to continue to post emotional unsubstantiated statements it may feel good but you will be doing nothing more than playing the “get Ms Urea game”

If Ms Urena is found to be responsible for any alleged wrongdoing I trust that the DOE will do what is required. If in fact, Ms Urena is found to not be party to any wrong doing, will there be posts on this blog acknowledging this? Will she get her reputation back? One can only hope.

#1: Teacher turn-over reached 50% in 2012. Last year it nearly reached 70% when you include school support staff.

#2: Urena hired four IA APs (Interim Acting Assistant Principals) between 2008 - 2012. Each left before his or her first year. Two were forcibly removed and attempts were made to strip them of their administrative licenses and certifications. Two left before Urena could file against them.

While they were at the school, each of the APs reported Urena to various organizations, including but not limited to the UFT, CSA, DOE, OSI, CAS, and other city and state organizations.

All four APs claim Urena required them to participate in fraudulent, unethical, and illegal actions. When they did not do what Urena asked them to do, she had them removed or harassed them until they left.

No AP was ever given required, mandated mentoring. Urena never conducted the required C-30 process for IA APs. When asked why she never conducted this mandated process, she claimed it required "too much clicking" (through various screens on the computer).

#3: Jose Vinales is the only AP that has worked over a year in the school under Urena. He is now Interim Acting Principal.

Prior to going to ALT, Vinales was an IA AP in excess in three different schools over three years. Vinales has never taught in the classroom. He holds various degrees in guidance and counseling. He was asked by Urena on several occasions to conduct observations of teachers in the classroom. He frequently rated those teachers ineffective.

#4: To aid her with supervisory duties in the school, Urena brought in two personal friends and a former boss, Dr. Rosamaria Leon and Superintendent Elena Papaliberios. These two were hired as consultants for the school.

Over the years, these consultants have earned tens of thousands of dollars from Urena. This money has come from different budget sources, including but not limited to Title III. Each consultant engaged in activities well beyond what is typical of consultants, including writing observation reports that were then used to file misconduct allegations on teachers who Urena needed to get out of the school.

Most recently, these consultants helped compile the school's faulty and exaggerated Self Evaluation for the latest Quality Review Report, which was lead-conducted by Papaliberios' hand-picked successor, Carron Staple, who gave the school an overblown "Well Developed."

#5: Over the course of seven years, Urena prematurely broke contracts with two DOE support organizations (PSOs). The school is now with its third network, Christine Jimenez's PSO (Network 402). Similar to the consultants named above, Christine is a personal friend of Urena's. She came to her aid when other support organizations like New Visions cut ties with her due to illegal and fraudulent activities. Christine and her network are fully aware of the illegal activities in the school, and support Urena and the school regardless.

#6: Teachers such as Claire Brennan and Jessica Orban are used as supervisors despite the fact that they do not hold administrative licenses or certification.

#7: Over the years, school aides such as Pablo Guzman have been used to report situations around the school that are then used against teachers who Urena needed to push out. Guzman is the father of several students at ALT. He is also a personal friend of Urena's and has performed several duties for her in her house during school hours.

#8: Guidance counselors and Parent Coordinators have been put through the same roller coaster ride as teachers and administration. Several have lost their certification due to the fact that they did not support Urena's fraudulent and illegal demands. At various times during its history, the school has gone years without counselors and/or a Parent Coordinator.

It is high time that the DOE do a thorough investigation of this school and all that has gone on -- and continues to go on -- there, even after Urena's resignation.

I am ex student at ALT.. i graduate in 2011. we have a wonderful teacher.. he was excellent ROLE MODEL for young mens but one day we make joke to Urena. We say he is REAL principle. of this school jajajaja but she no laugh. next week the student govrnment say every body gonna sign this petition but i no sign it because is full of mentira lies of my favorite teacher.. then the next day the secretary she take me to a room.. the petititiion is on the table.. i say in SPanish i NO gonna sigh!!! but then the parent cooridinator she say she have my phone number and house direccion and she say i gonna call your deportation.. actually i have 17 cousins/uncles with illegal in this country so I start to cry in my heart and i sign the paper. nextweek the excellent teacher no come anymore. i wanna say many times i am so soory to my favorite teacher but i never say it to nobody until i see this Blogger in FACEBOOK and then i put my history here.

next i wanna talk about the MONEY$$ at ALT. we plan a senior trip to MIAMI but the trip was 500$ so i work everynight in supermarket and i give 350$ in effectivo to the student governmnt but then the trip is cancellation.. After grauduation i go to ALT to get my $$$ cuzthat is my money no there money. but when I go to the officina MR:Vinales he yell at me like that GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!!! so i never go back to that place again. then we hear from other people that MS:Urena she take students's money and redecoration her officina. she say MR:Guzman goto Home Depot and buy her a new stuffs for her officina. lmao.. MS:Urena one day you gonna meet GOD good luck lol. i am happy you no more the principle cuz now you no make bad things to good people.. you take FULL ADVENTAGE of good student and teacher at ALT cuz we NO had protection.. -JPM

My Blogger friends, I know you are all tired of hearing me say this but you have to stick to the facts and supporting evidence. The last poster laid out some pretty serious charges. No matter how hard I try, I can’t find any supporting evidence displayed here. Words like “Fraudulent, Unethical and Illegal” are very serious.

The poster referenced Dr. Rosamaria Leon and Superintendent Elena Papaliberios. The blogger wrote “Over the years, these consultants have earned tens of thousands of dollars from Urena. This money has come from different budget sources, including but not limited to Title III.” I’ve heard this before on this blog. Does anyone know if paying these professionals is not allowed under the Title III rules? What if it is? Are the funds really missing as has been said at times here or are they just paid out to consultants to help Ms Urena with her LEP students. You might have made a different choice with the funding but she was the Principal. I was happy to at least see the blogger use the word “earned”. The truth about all this is that you don’t know everything that transpired around the utilization of this funding and if it is important to you, dig into it and try to find out. What you will discover just may very well surprise you.

I was an early commenter on this blog who joined with others to call for the DOE to take action on Ms Urena. I was influenced by all the emotional posts speaking of alleged mistreatment. In retrospect, I am sorry that I allowed this to happen. In my rush to judgment I perhaps did not look close enough at the lack of facts nor did I dig deep enough for evidence. This was probably a mistake. I apologize to Ms Urena for this and as I have said before, hope that she gets treated fairly by the DOE. As I said in my earlier post, If they investigate and find her liable for wrongdoing, so be it. I trust the DOE will take appropriate action. After all, I know you are all watching. If in fact they find no wrong doing, that the most serious charges are baseless, or do not rise to the level of dismissal, I can only hope that this news will be posted on this blog as well. Best of Luck to all Posters!

Once upon a time, there was a young but aspiring chef who lived in a Big City. One day, the Mayor of the City decided to increase the number of fine restaurants; so, using cash from his own pocket, he set up a program to quickly train several hundred young and aspiring chefs—our young, aspiring chef included. Once the brief training was over, the mayor bestowed upon each of these chefs a new restaurant and a 3-million-dollar annual budget. Then he told them, “Go forth and feed the hungry people!”

So our young, aspiring chef opened her new restaurant. In its first years, she was showered with accolades for the fine restaurant she created. People flocked there each night to savor the delicious dishes. But then, gradually, a few customers grew ill after eating food. The sickness they encountered brought them pain for many days, but they kept their illness secret. After all, who would believe that the food at the young, aspiring chef’s restaurant had poisoned them?

Time passed, and more and more customers grew ill. In fact, in the fifth and sixth year, 3 out of every 10 customers who ate at the restaurant got sick. Everyone sensed there had been food-poisoning—yet, the City’s Rating for the restaurant, proudly posted at the front of restaurant, remained a solid “A.”

In the last year, a full FIFTY PERCENT—in other words, one out of two people who ate at the restaurant—wound up on their knees worshiping the porcelain throne after eating the chef’s food. At that point, there was public outcry. Seemingly with no choice left in the matter, the head chef submitted her resignation.

Slowly, the affected customers began to emerge and talk about their experience. Some even bravely posted comments and ratings on the Internet, claiming that the chef had poisoned them; for indeed, over the many years the restaurant had been open, the only constant was the chef. Dozens of sous chefs, wait staff, maître ds, and dishwashers had come and gone during the time the restaurant was open, but only the head chef had been there from the beginning. This in mind, the customers felt validated holding the head chef publically accountable for the wrongdoing.

A full-blown report—several reports, in fact—eventually appeared on the Web about the restaurant and its chef. Links appeared on Twitter and Facebook, and within a few days thousands had read the reports. Customers who had gone recently to the restaurant as well as those who were patrons in the early days began to chime in, sharing their experience, memories of their illnesses still fresh, regardless of how many years had passed since they had visited the restaurant.

Then came a backlash. One or two bloggers galloped in on white horses and boldly cried out to the customers, “Shame on you for accusing the chef of these actions! Surely you are only here to destroy her reputation! Pray, provide us with REAL EVIDENCE of these misdoings! Show us FDA Reports and the Restaurant’s Inventory Lists with Food Expiration Dates! Gather Footage from Security Cameras Showing the Grime, and get Two or Three People from the Restaurant to Produce Witness Statements that They Saw the Head Chef Never Washing Her Hands after Using the Bathroom! For we SIMPLY CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR WORDS! We need EVIDENCE proving where the tainted food came from!”

Attacks against the customers didn’t stop there. Adding insult to injury, some bloggers even accused the customers of being “tacitly complicit.” They asked smug questions like “But didn’t YOU butter your own bread and put salt on your own potatoes?” and “Didn’t YOU sit near the kitchen and watch the food being prepared, so shouldn’t YOU be blamed for your sickness?” (These same bloggers coyly admitted that “As luck would have it, WE never ate at the restaurant, therefore WE are not accountable for ANYTHING.”)

The customers who had grown ill over the food at the restaurant saw these comments and simply shook their heads. It was not their job, nor their responsibility, to “dig up” evidence to support their accusations—they knew that 1) they had been wronged, 2) the statements they presented in the blog were true, and 3) they lived in a country with free speech.

As time passed, it became clear the customers had successfully accomplished a different purpose altogether: the City had been warned. There was the small chance in the future that the chef would be allowed to claim another restaurant. Now the residents of the City knew that if they went to the new restaurant to eat the food from the head chef, or even worse, work for her in her kitchen, they would be putting themselves into seriously grave danger. A leopard doesn’t change her spots very easily.

In the end, ironically, the “lack of evidence” that the customers had been accused of stood as evidence against the head chef. After all, she had had many opportunities in the early days of the accusations to come forward with her own reports to show the customers, the Mayor, and others in the City that her culinary skills were up to snuff and that she was, in fact, a legitimately good chef. But she chose not to present anything at all. Instead, she went into hiding once accusations were made.

As evident by the above two comments regarding the allegory and the "Maria Gomez" story (see: http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/2014/01/another-teacher-at-academy-for-language.html), I think these issues about Arisleyda Urena's "leadership" are sufficient evidence about this woman's incompetence. Sadly, can we really expect the OSI or SCI to take our complaints seriously? Ms. Urena's charges of Title III misappropriation were found to be unsubstantiated. We know CFN 402 is corrupt and they will stand by Urena and Vinales. We KNOW what she did with the money was unethical and unlawful, but can we really depend on the DOE to give an ethical and unbiased investigation into our claims?

Warning parents and teachers ("customers" and "employees" in the "restaurant") is ONE thing but does it really solve the big problem of unearthing and providing justice to the hundreds of CHILDREN and professionals who were wronged? Chew on this....

I hope for the sake of educators that truly enjoy their occupation, and ELL students who truly care to succeed, that they never run across people like this Urena and her followers, her admirers, and worse, her academic supporters--all who have allowed themselves to be fooled. Run for daylight or perish under the dictatorship left behind by her majesty, Ms Araña!

With any luck, those parents, students, teachers and school aides who worked for several years in the Parent Association and on the School Leadership Team at Academy for Language and Technology will finally get a glimpse at what they were dealing with!

And I thought the seven values were the first thing on her mind..., In ALT there is not fairness or honesty at all , students have to go thourgh unfair situations like we cannot express ourselves because them we have the counselor or te principal screaming at us ...

It's so ironic that she was always talking about THE SEVEN VALUES OF SUCCESS and acting like "I'm the best" when she is actually a THIEF and I don't fucking care what she used it for, it still been a Theft. I'm so glad Viñales as well as her treat people like animals, like they didn't deserve respect, that is why I left that stupid school and I'm so glad I did. They wanted respect but they didn't give any to others, that is also why I never ever in the time I spent there stood w my mouth shut on them. Viñales, Alvarado and, her were all the same.

I was in that school when they did the raffles and decided to transfer school due to their unfair treatment and teachers only talking about suspension and detention. Months after in my new school i saw one of my old teachers who worked there and he told me how he was victim of the unfair treatment ureña would give to teachers and how most of the teachers in there quit working for her due to that unfair treatment.

The story has hit both the English and Spanish press. Ms. Urena was found to be guilty of misusing money and failing to follow DOE rules to the tune of over $12,000 unaccounted for. She ran away rather than be charged.

Absolutely absurd she got fired and this horrible person that was her accomplice is now the principal. He is a rude, uneducated, unprofessional atrocious, awful man. He is unpleasant and speaks to people as if they were animals. He is a horrible, appalling and disgusting man. The DOE is destroying the children of New York and they are using these horrible people to do their dirty work. This man should not be in the Department of education and nowhere near children. Just horrible.

TV Appearances by Betsy Combier

Contact me with a concern or issue

I assist anyone who needs help, so email me your problem to start the ball rolling! I am a teacher/parent advocate, and I am the editor/writer for this blog and the website parentadvocates.org. I also write about court corruption on my blog "NYC Court Corruption". I am interested in random injustice and the criminalizing of innocent people. If you want to chat you may email me at: betsy.combier@gmail.com and I'm on twitter and have a facebook page too. I'm not an attorney and do not give legal advice.

If you want to talk with me about your 3020-a charges, I consult and go over your case without charge. No fee.

And, in response to the lies of certain individuals who resent my work, the truth is that all conversations are confidential and I do not tape secretly.

My Thoughts and Raison d'etre

This blog is about the denial of Constitutional rights by the Mayor, the New York City Department of Education and the Chancellor, New York State and Federal Courts, New York State legislature, and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), as well as PACs and all parties participating in the business of public school education in New York City, to harm and in neglect of parents, children, and staff of public schools in the five boroughs. These thoughts are not simply mindless conclusions reached out of thin air, but a result of 14 years of research into the NYC DOE and the Courts as a reporter and paralegal.
I am an advocate of Unions and union rights, public schools and charters, and learning online as well as outside of the classroom. I cannot and do not support anyone, whether they be union management, government, private members of the political or legal system, or simply retired teachers with an agenda, if he or she tramples, discards, or rebuffs anyone's individual civil rights. As a reporter, journalist, advocate, researcher and paralegal, I have created this blog to inform the public about my experience working for the UFT and being the parent of four daughters who went through the public school system in NYC, as well as examine issues that flow from the massive denial of due process rights that I saw and have documented. The two most important points you should remember: first, everyone at the New York City Board/Department of Education and all Union bigs are motivated by power and money, and looking good. If anyone dares to blow the whistle on these racketeers, retaliation follows, so be a strategist; second, I am not an Attorney and nothing I write or say is legal advice, simply my thoughts. Take 'em or leave 'em.
Betsy Combier, Editor
NYC Rubber Room Reporter
http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com
New York Court Corruption
http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com
Parentadvocates.org
http://www.parentadvocates.org
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/BetsyCombier
The NYC Public Voice
http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/betsy.combier@gmail.com
Lawline July 27, 2011
http://www.teachem.com/lawlinetv/learn/lawline-tv-teachers-unions-the-last-in-first-out-rule/

Principal Anne Seifullah changes her image so that she can keep her job amidst sexting and trysts in the school, Robert Wagner Secondary Sch...

Testimonial from an Exonerated Teacher

Dear Betsy,I am forever indebted to you, Betsy, for your expert counsel throughout a horrific ordeal. You worked tirelessly to prove my innocence in a 3020a proceeding that was instigated by a corrupt school district and fueled by lies. My proceedings ended with my complete exoneration, my record expunged and my immediate return to the classroom. We didn't even need to file an appeal! Thank you, Betsy. I am now eligible to retire and enjoy the benefits you helped me to protect. God bless you and the work you do protecting the innocent.Sincerely,Maria Gargano

Betsy Combier is the Best!

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FAITH

When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly. Patrick Overton

Truth Seeks Light - Lies Seek Shadows

Twins Jill Danger (left) and Betsy Combier(right)

sayin like it is

Actions Have Consequences

Writing as Music

Rubber Room teachers wish me a happy birthday (2006)

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all."

Rubber Room Satire

The Labor Movement

The Teaching Equation

We Can Work Out Our Differences

The E-Accountability Foundation

The E-Accountability Foundation brings you this blog which highlights issues that have or should be read by people interested in civil rights, and accountability. The E-Accountability Foundation is a 501(C)3 organization that holds people accountable for their actions online and, through the internet, seeks to bring justice to anyone who has been harmed without reason. We give the'A for Accountability' Awardto those who are willing to blow the whistle on unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status.

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Performance Management - Office of Labor Relations

From Betsy Combier

The NYC Office of Labor Relations, with the support of the UFT, has issued to principals a document called"Performance Management" on how to get rid of an incompetent teacher. Who is an "incompetent teacher"? Anyone the NYC Department of Education wants to remove from the system because he/she is too senior (makes too much money), is disabled (and therefore cannot be deemed factory-perfect) and/or is other impaired (is a whistleblower, cannot be intimidated, is ethnically challenged - not the 'right' race, etc).

Candace R. McLaren

Director, Office of Special Investigations (OSI)

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Polo Colon

"Rubber Room"

(1) a space where a worker subject to a disciplinary hearing or other administrative action waits and does no work; generally, a place or personal mind-set of isolation.(2) a literal reference to a padded cell, which is, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “a room in a psychiatric hospital with padded walls to prevent violent patients from injuring themselves.”from Double-Tongued Dictionary http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/rubber_room/

"Rubberization"

The word "rubberization" is a new word that is used to describe the process of assigning and paying people to sit and do nothing in a drab room away from their place of employment while their employers make up charges that allege sexual or corporal misconduct without any facts upon which to base the allegation on.

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Theresa Europe, NYC BOE ATU Director

Robin Greenfield

Deputy Counsel to the NYC DOE

UFT Pres. Mike Mulgrew and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg

UFT umbrella pals

New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez

ATR CONNECT

Tenured Teachers who are found to be guilty of misconduct or incompetency at 3020-a but are not terminated, who have blown the whistle on the misconduct of politically favored NYC Department of Education employees, and/or who are simply disliked for any reason can suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool - employees without rights or voices, and without chapter leader union representation.

This new group of people are the "new" rubber roomers without representation at the UFT and denied the protection of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, because basically they have been pushed out of their jobs unfairly and under color of law by Mayor Bloomberg and the Chief Executives of the Department of Education who call themselves "Chancellors", "Network Leaders", "Superintendents", etc., consistently without any facts or evidence to support the false claims.

A group of teachers who are, or were, made into ATRs, ATR Polo Colon, and I, Betsy Combier, an advocate for transparency and labor/employment rights, have joined together to expose the denial of due process, civil and human rights by chiefs of the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE), certain arbitrators at 3020-a, leaders of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the "investigators" -agents who work for the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI), Office of Special Investigation (OSI), and the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) - and the Attorneys who work for the New York United Teachers (NYSUT), and the New York Law Department (Corporation Counsel).

In order to protect the safety of those who join this group to promote an end to the "Rubberization" process described on this blog since 2007, names of those who tell their stories will, for now, remain anonymous if the person so desires, and Polo and I will be the gatekeepers. So if you are an ATR, or know a story involving an ATR or someone re-assigned or about to go into a 3020-a, please use the email address advocatz77@gmail.com and give us your contact information. We will protect your anonymity and hold onto your privacy.

Betsy Combier and Polo Colon, Editors

FAITH When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly.

Patrick Overton

We have forty million reasons for failure but not a single excuse.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

The Re-Assignment Overview by Betsy Combier

The New York City Board of Education decided in 2002 to rid the public school system of staff who interfered with their takeover and control. The criteria for a "good teacher" is now, more often than not, a "silent teacher", a person who never asks questions, is younger than 40, is making a salary below $50,000, does not care about kids and what they learn, or whether or not money (books, supplies, equipment, etc) is missing. When a teacher or staff member of a school dares to do the right thing and speaks out about wrong-doing - this person is often called a "whistleblower" or "flamethrower" - or, simply is not liked for any reason by the Principal/NYC personnel, suddenly he/she is accused of something by somebody ("given a label of "A", "B", "C", and so on) and whisked away to a drab room called a temporary re-assignment center or "rubber room". Members of the offices of the Special Commissioner of Investigation or the Office of Special Investigations then start work on building a case against the person to justify their being thrown in prison, declared "unfit for duty", or, as Mr. Joel Klein has said, characterized as "guilty of sexual activities and corporal punishment" against the children of New York City.The stories of the people I have met who sit every day in the 8 rubber rooms of NYC prove to me that Mr. Klein is very wrong about his assessment, and this blog is created to prove it to you.

Puppy Snooze

US Department of Labor ELAWS

Aeri Pang, Gotcha Squad Attorney

Attorney Pang, red dress, now chief Attorney For New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

NYC EdStats You Can Use

$12.5 billion: Annual New York City Department of Education (DOE) budget (2002)

$21 billion: Annual New York City DOE budget (2009)
1,719: Number officials employed by the DOE central administration in June 2002

2,442: Number of officials employed by the central administration as of November 2008

2: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2004.

22: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2007.

5: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2003.

23: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2008.

944: Number of contracts approved by DOE in 2008, at a total cost of $1.9 billion.

20: Percentage of contracts that exceeded estimated cost by at least 25 percent.

$67.5 million: Annual budget of Project Arts, a decade-old program that was the sole source of dedicated funding for arts education. It was eliminated in 2007.

86: Percentage of principals who said in a 2008 poll that they were unable to provide a quality education because of excessive class sizes in their schools.

100,000: Number of seats DOE plans to provide for charter school students by 2012.

25,000: Number of seats DOE plans to build under 2010 to 2014 capital plan.

66,895: Number of K-3 school-children in classes of 25 or more during the 2008-09 school year.

15,440: Average number of seats per year built during the last six years of the Rudolph Giuliani administration.

10,895: Average number of seats per year built during the first six years of the Bloomberg administration.

27.2: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were Black.

14.1: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were Black.

53.3: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were white.

65.5: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were white.

76: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Latino students in 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) in 2003.

75: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic students in 8th grade ELA in 2008.

77: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2003.

81: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2008.

54: Percentage of New York City public school parents who disapproved of Mayor Bloomberg’s handling of education, according to a March 2009 Quinnipiac poll.

Sources: New York City Council, New York City Comptroller’s Office, New York Daily News, New York Post, Eduwonkette, Quinnipiac Institute, Black Educator, Class Size Matters, New York City Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein.

Betsy Combier and NYSUT lawyer Chris Callagy

The New York City Whistle Award

NYC Whistlers, Winners of the NYC Whistle Award

...are those individuals in New York City who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. Whistlers ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up.

These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work!

Betsy Combier

Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon

Condon "qualified" for his current post after Bloomberg lowered standards; who will leash him?

A great teacher

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said: 'Let me see if I've got this right.

'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job 'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletinboard, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. 'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY?

NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly

Joel Klein's famous statement about rubber room teachers and staff

On November 27, 2006, temporarily re-assigned teacher (TRT) Polo Colon asked Joel Klein, the "pretend" Chancellor of the NYC public school system, if he had voted to terminate teachers at the secret Executive Session held just before the public meeting of the Panel For Educational Policy.Mr. Klein answered,"We did not vote to terminate you. We did vote to terminate a teacher in executive Session...in fact, we voted to terminate two teachers. It's perfectly consistent with the law.Many teachers have been charged with sexual activities and some are charged with corporal punishment...I have no interest in removing people who are qualified to teach, I can assure you, because I dont get any return...and in fact, I have complained publicly about how long this process drags out. But our first concern will always be and, as a former lawyer and somebody who clerked on the United States Supreme Court I will tell you, there is no violation of due process whatsoever..."- extracted from the audiotape of the PEP meeting bought by Betsy Combier after filing a FOIL request to the NYC BOE

November 26, 2007 Candelight Vigil

The School Law Blog

A Review of Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools by Betsy Combier

Lydia Segal's book puts the NYC, Chicago, and California Departments of Education on notice....we who have read this book know more about how the system is not there for our kids than "you" want us to know. Lydia Segal's book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools changes the public school reform movement forever. We can no longer assume that more money allocated to our schools will "fix" the disaster that is our public school system.

Lydia Segal draws on her 10 years of undercover investigation and research in over five urban school districts, including the three largest, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the two most decentralized, Houston and Edmonton, Canada, to provide, in her new book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools, the details of the corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage that has overrun our public school establishment for several decades. There is no question that anyone who is interested in school reform -this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first - must read this book. Ms. Segal's research and information on the education establishment's 'dark' side outrages the reader, and incites us to demand change. Her book therefore, is much more than a book, it is a call to action. We cannot be bystanders any longer to the systemic abuse she so vividly describes, and we will never be able to listen in the same way ever again to school Principals, Superintendents, school custodians or district board members as they request more money "to help the children."

The book's detailed reports on the corruption and crime in our public schools, supported by 52 pages of interview notes, references and specific examples, provide irrefutable evidence that the current failures of our nation's public schools are not due to the lack of money but the impossibility of getting the money to the children who need it and for whom the money is allocated in the first place. Recent statistics show that students of all ages are not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system every year. The New York City school system receives more than $16 billion every year; Los Angeles, $7 billion; and Chicago, $3.6 billion. Where does this money go? We have all asked this question as we have walked through school hallways dodging the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, watching our children sitting on broken chairs, using bathrooms without running water or toilet paper, and struggling to achieve their personal best without the services and resources they are supposed to have. Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools is the first book ever to systematically examine school waste and corruption and how to fight it. Ms. Segal, an undercover school investigator turned law professor, documents where the money goes, how waste and fraud embedded in the operation of large school bureaucracies siphon money from classrooms, distort educational priorities, block initiatives, and what we can do to bring badly-needed change. She describes in detail how only a small percentage of the money allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them due to corruption and waste, and how city school systems scoring lowest on standardized tests tend to have the biggest criminal records and most payroll padding. Coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route.

Ms. Segal argues that the problem is not usually bad people, but a bad system that focuses on process at the expense of results. Decades of rules and regulations along with layers of top-down supervision make it so hard to do business with school systems that they encourage the very fraud and waste they were designed to curb. She tells us about how the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members) obtain jobs for their "pieces" in order to protect the systemic waste and fraud from being dismantled or exposed. Fortunately, she writes, there are good people involved in the corruption as well who must violate the rules in order to get their jobs done. Nonetheless, absurdities abound: school systems following rules to save every penny spend thousands of dollars hunting down checks as small as $25; it takes so long to pay vendors for their work that some have to bribe school officials to move their checks along; caring Principals who want to fix leaky toilets may have to pay workers under the table because submitting a work order through the central office could, and often does, take years. Meanwhile, those who pilfer from classrooms get away with it because the pyramidal structure of large districts makes schools inherently difficult to oversee. What makes Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools a must-read is not only the fascinating - and depressing - details of the systemic wrong-doing but also Ms. Segal's suggestions for reform, based on the proven track records of school systems across North America that have successfully reduced waste and fraud and have pushed more resources into schools.

The pathology of the corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. Distilling what successful school systems have done, Segal advocates new forms of oversight that do not clog up school systems and recommends giving principals more discretion over their school budgets as well as holding them accountable for job performance. She argues for "autonomy in exchange for performance accountability" as part of a bold, far-reaching plan for reclaiming our schools. Her conclusion is logical and convincing. Everyone who reads this book will find his or her perception of public school education changed forever. We cannot accept any longer that a generation of children has been abused by a system that is so full of greed and corruption without screaming "stop!" and "Your game is up!"

Segal reveals how systemic waste and fraud siphon millions of dollars from urban classrooms and shows how money is lost in systems that focus on process rather than on results, as well as how regulations established to curb waste and fraud provide perverse incentives for new forms of both. Anyone who is interested in school reform--this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school, and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first--must read this book. --

Lydia G. Segal is Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.

The NYC BOE FAMIS Online Tour

The FAMIS Portal Online Tour provides an overview and demonstration of the FAMIS Portal. Computer speakers or headphones are recommended. Choose an item of interest below, or click on the Introduction to proceed through all of the modules in sequence.

About Me

Reporter, paralegal, advocate,I will investigate, search on the internet and in all data bases for information that will help a person in need of resolution to a problem.I believe in substantive and procedural due process for all individuals, groups and organizations and trademarked the term "e-accountability" to describe the purpose of my work. I am the parent of four daughters.

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